Why did the railroad workers go on strike of 1922?

In summer 1922, railroad shop men, and maintenance-of-way workers, were the target of wage cuts, that lowered their wages by an average of 12%. The wage cuts were particularly upsetting to the workers because the economy was on an upswing after the difficult years around World War I.



People Also Ask

The origin of the Railroad Strike occurred in Martinsburg, West Virginia, at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) station on July 16, 1877. It was caused by a 10 percent wage cut which resulted in the workers deciding no train leaves the station until the wage cut was eliminated.

MORE DETAILS

The railroad brotherhoods suffered a crushing defeat. Strikers went back to work, on management's terms, and others were blacklisted. During the Great Depression, the union movement would just begin to unite skilled and unskilled workers, something not done during the 1922 strike.

MORE DETAILS

What came to be known as The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. It was triggered after the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad cut wages for the third time in a year. The strikers would not allow trains to run until the cuts were revoked.

MORE DETAILS

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began to lose momentum when President Hayes sent federal troops from city to city. Federal troops from the south previously used in the Reconstruction after the Civil War were also sent to the striking cities to disperse the crowds.

MORE DETAILS

Last fall, many union railroad workers in the United States did not have paid sick days. Now, more than sixty percent of them do, Reuters reports. It has been a process of slow, piecemeal wins over many months—and a testament to the continued push of high-profile politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).

MORE DETAILS

Agricultural groups say that even a brief strike would interrupt shipment of feed to livestock and to poultry producers, which could increase the price of meat. Likewise, many building supplies are shipped via train, ranging from lumber to cement, so there could be shortages of these materials at home supply stores.

MORE DETAILS

Labor activism and the railways are inextricably linked in US history. In 1877, railroad workers were fighting for labor justice too. Years of pay cuts, weak labor protections, and ruthless exploitation by their employers led them to walk off their jobs in a series of strikes across the country.

MORE DETAILS